This colloquium is organized by Region Normandy as part of the « Normandy for Peace » series and with the support of the GIP Research Mission Law and Justice.

At present, legal definitions of justice take account of a wide spectrum of concepts which operate as juridical tools to protect future generations. Environmental justice, climate justice (as defined in the Paris Agreement COP 21) and the protection of the Commons: figure alongside new aspects of our concept of justice itself, which has to evolve in order to fit our changing world.

It cannot be denied that we live in an era of wide-ranging transformation both in Law and Human Rights. This is the context in which the international symposium “Taking Legal Action on Behalf of Future Generations” is taking place.

Is it possible to take legal action on behalf of future generations? If so, on what juridical bases could this occur? What scientific or legal fields have already been successfully (or not) used in this specific defence? Are there any other bases on which such legal action could be taken?

In 1993 the now famous Oposa vs Factoran case created a precedent for future generations law. Indeed, the Filipino lawyer Tony Oposa paved the way for legal action on behalf of future generations in calling for a ruling on the over-exploitation of forests before the Filipino Supreme Court. Based on this historic date in Filipino law, the rights of future generations can be defended against the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the ocean. It is a Filipino precedent, but this legal action is also a global precedent in the sense that it heralds a new era in legal action throughout the world. Mass disputes and human litigation undertaken on behalf of Humanity and in defence of the planet’s future are the kind of affairs which invoke future generations law and now constantly increase in number.

These kinds of legal action characterise a new era in law precisely because they are filed in the name and on behalf of future generations. They are presented both before national and regional Court and before the International Court of Justice. If the spotlight is now particularly focused on climate justice, we must not forget that this is part of a wider movement of changes leading to a metamorphosis of the contemporary legal system which goes to the heart of reshaping the law’s legitimate fields – beginning with legal action.

This international colloquium is introduced by Pr. Mireille Delmas-Marty who will put into perspective the following themes: